Diagnostic and managing distributed processor system

Abstract

A network of microcontrollers for monitoring and diagnosing the environmental conditions of a computer is disclosed. The network of microcontrollers provides a management system by which computer users can accurately gauge the health of their computer. The network of microcontrollers provides users the ability to detect system fan speeds, internal temperatures and voltage levels. The invention is designed to not only be resilient to faults, but also allows for the system maintenance, modification, and growth-without downtime. Additionally, the present invention allows users to replace failed components, and add new functionality, such as new network interfaces, disk interface cards and storage, without impacting existing users. One of the primary roles of the present invention is to manage the environment without outside involvement. This self-management allows the system to continue to operate even though components have failed.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A computer monitor and diagnostic system, comprising: 
       a computer, having a computing device and a housing;  
       a plurality of sensors, located within the computer, capable of sensing conditions within the computer; and  
       a microcontroller network, located within the computer, the network comprising a plurality of interconnected microcontrollers, connected to the sensors and the computer, wherein the microcontroller network processes requests for conditions from the computer and responsively provides sensed conditions to the computer.  
     
     
       2. The system defined in  claim 1 , additionally comprising a client computer connected directly to the microcontroller network to submit condition requests. 
     
     
       3. The system defined in  claim 1 , wherein the computer includes a plurality of canisters and the microcontroller network controls power to the canisters. 
     
     
       4. The system defined in  claim 1 , wherein the microcontroller network controls power to a slot. 
     
     
       5. The system defined in  claim 1 , wherein the microcontroller network logs conditions to a recording system. 
     
     
       6. The system defined in  claim 1 , wherein the microcontroller network logs messages to non-volatile random access memory. 
     
     
       7. The system defined in  claim 1 , wherein the microcontroller network controls the system power to the computer. 
     
     
       8. The system defined in  claim 1 , wherein the microcontroller network is interconnected by an I 2 C bus. 
     
     
       9. The system defined in  claim 1 , wherein one of the microcontrollers in the microcontroller network is connected to a canister. 
     
     
       10. The system defined in  claim 1 , further comprising an actuator connected to the microcontroller network, wherein the actuator modifies an environmental condition of the computer. 
     
     
       11. A microcontroller network for diagnosing and managing the conditions of a computer, the microcontroller network comprising: 
       a microcontroller bus; and  
       a plurality of microcontrollers, located within the computer, wherein the microcontrollers are interconnected by the microcontroller bus and wherein the microcontrollers manage the conditions within the computer.  
     
     
       12. The microcontroller network of  claim 11 , wherein a selected one of the microcontrollers checks for a microcontroller bus time-out. 
     
     
       13. The microcontroller network of  claim 11 , wherein a selected one of the microcontrollers checks for a manual system board reset. 
     
     
       14. The microcontroller network of  claim 11 , wherein a selected one of the microcontrollers checks for a software reset command. 
     
     
       15. The microcontroller network of  claim 11 , wherein a selected one of the microcontrollers checks for system faults. 
     
     
       16. The microcontroller network of  claim 11 , wherein a selected one of the microcontrollers maintains a system log in a non-volatile random access memory. 
     
     
       17. The microcontroller network of  claim 11 , wherein a selected one of the microcontrollers monitors the speed of a canister fan. 
     
     
       18. The microcontroller network of  claim 11 , wherein the processor bus is an I 2 C bus. 
     
     
       19. A system for monitoring and diagnosing a computer having a microcontroller network, the system comprising: 
       means, located within the computer, for sensing the internal conditions of the computer with the microcontroller network;  
       means for receiving the sensed conditions in the microcontroller network; and  
       means for communicating the sensed conditions from the microcontroller network to the system bus of the computer.  
     
     
       20. A computer monitoring and diagnostic system, comprising: 
       a computer, having a plurality of computer-related components, wherein the components have associated environmental and systemic conditions;  
       a plurality of sensors capable of sensing the environmental and systemic conditions, wherein the sensors are located within the computer; and  
       a plurality of microcontrollers connected to the sensors and the computer.  
     
     
       21. The system defined in  claim 20 , wherein the microcontrollers are located within the computer. 
     
     
       22. The system defined in  claim 20 , wherein the plurality of microcontrollers comprises a network of interconnected microcontrollers, each microcontroller being capable of addressing the other microcontrollers. 
     
     
       23. The system defined in  claim 22 , wherein the network processes requests for environmental or systemic conditions from the computer and responsively provides the environmental or system conditions to the computer. 
     
     
       24. The system defined in  claim 20 , wherein the computer-related components comprise at least one component selected from the group consisting of a system board, a central processing unit (CPU), a CPU fan, a backplane board, a backplane fan, a chassis, a chassis fan, a canister, a canister fan, a PCI card, and a PCI card fan. 
     
     
       25. The system defined in  claim 20 , wherein selected ones of the sensors detect the temperature levels of selected ones of the computer-related components. 
     
     
       26. The system defined in  claim 20 , wherein at least one of the sensors detects the speed of a fan intended to cool down selected ones of the computer-related components. 
     
     
       27. The system defined in  claim 20 , wherein at least one of the sensors detects the voltage level applied to selected ones of the computer-related components.